Men's College Cross Country / Track and Field
Rider Adds 20
LAWRENCEVILLE—The Rider University men's track and field and cross country teams have recently announced the addition of 20 newcomers to enhance the roster for the upcoming 2016-17 season, part of a group of 43 student-athletes that is possibly the greatest recruiting class in the history of the program.
The 20 men (17 rookies and three transfers) include nationally ranked athletes and state champions and are comprised of eight distance runners, seven sprinters and five throwers.
“I am very excited about this incoming class of Broncs,” said head coach Bob Hamer. “We have some real impact athletes in each of the event groups and we are looking forward to watching them compete against the best in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. We also have many athletes who we feel can develop into top point scorers for us in our conference championships and also compete on the regional level.”
Distance
Headlining the distance class will be Isaiah Jean-Baptiste from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Jean-Baptiste comes to Rider out of Cherry Hill High School East where he placed ninth at the New Jersey Meet of Champions in the 1600m. This past spring, Jean-Baptiste ran times of 1:54.59 in the 800 meter and 4:16.76 in the 1600 meter and recorded an excellent 19th place finish at the New Jersey Cross Country Championships in the fall of 2015.
Tom Long from Cinnaminson, New Jersey (Cinnaminson High School) is a runner with excellent middle distance credentials as he recorded bests of 1:55.49 (800 meter) and 4:24.53 (1600 meter) this past spring. Long also played soccer for the Pirates but will leave the pitch behind as he runs cross country for the first time this fall.
Matthew Brown joins the team after transferring from American University. A Yardley, Pennsylvania native (Holy Ghost), Brown holds bests of 2:08 for the 800 meter and 4:40 for 1600 meter.
Randolph (New Jersey) high school product Steven Cassano comes to Rider with personal bests of 2:01.05 for 800 meter and 4:30.60 for 1600 meter.
Ethan Duer from nearby Hopewell, New Jersey (Hopewell Valley) brings 3200 meter (10:10.38) credentials to the Broncs while Archbald, Pennsylvania native Conor Duffy (Valley View) brings 4:34 (1600 meter) and 10:17.24 (3200 meter) times to the table.
Rounding out the distance class is Cherokee High School's Steven Gravlin (Marlton, New Jersey) who has run 4:46 (1600 meter) and 10:19 (3200 meter) and William Lovenberg (Waretown, New Jersey) who ran personal bests of 4:31 (1600 meter) and 10:22 (3200 meter) at Southern Regional.
Sprints
A tremendous class of sprinters is headlined by transfer Arthur Johnson, a 2015 Nottingham High School graduate. Johnson was the 2015 State Champion in the 200 meter and was fifth in the event at the New Jersey Meet of Champions before finishing fourth in the event in the emerging elite section of the New Balance National High School Championships. Johnson comes to Lawrenceville from Notre Dame College (Ohio) with personal bests of 6.50 for 55 meter, 21.78 for the 200m and 49.50 for 400 meter.
Pennsauken's Marquan Jones (Pennsauken High School) helped lead his team to a state title this past spring and he ran on the squad's state championship 4x100 squad. Jones has very strong personal bests of 11.17 for 100 meter, 22.34 for the 200 meter and 48.98 for 400 meter.
Neptune's Tyrell Jackson (Neptune High School) brings in sprint marks of 6.55 for 55 meter, 10.95 for the 100 meter and 22.18 for the 200 meter. Jackson was a Shore Conference 100 meter champion, New Jersey Sectional Champion and was also a state runner-up in the 55 meter dash.
From Vineland, New Jersey (Vineland High School), Mike Cephas enjoyed a breakout senior season that included a time of 10.90 in the 100 meter, 22.77 (200 meter) and 50.83 for the 400 meter.. Cephas captured the Cumberland County 100 meter title, the Cape-Atlantic 100 meter title and was fourth at the State Group Championships in the 100 meter. Showing great range Cephas was also the Cumberland County 400 meter champion.
Another sprinter who had a breakout senior year is David Galarza from Howell, New Jersey (Howell High School). Galarza ran huge personal bests of 22.29 for the 200 meter and 50.26 for the 400 meter last spring and was third at the Shore Conference Championships in both events.
Rounding out the class are South Jersey native Akile Meade (Burlington Township HS) and Quamel Parris of Brooklyn, New York (Medgar Evers Prep). Meade has personal bests of 11.45 for 100 meter and 22.86 for 200 meter while Parris has run 11.59 for the 100 meter and 23.69 for the 200 meter.
Field-Throws
A strong throws class includes New Jersey State Shot Put Champion Adam Maid of Brick, New Jersey (Brick Memorial). Maid uncorked a massive 59'4.5” throw this past spring in the shot put and was third at the New Jersey Meet of Champions in the event. Maid also captured titles at the Husky and Rebel relays.
Central Regional (Toms River, New Jersey) product Darius Marrow comes to Rider with a 164'1” personal best in the discus and a 46'6” mark in the shot put. Marrow was fourth at the New Jersey Group Championships in the discus and was second at the East Coast Relays.
From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Markees Custus-Melgar (School of the Future HS) had a great senior year that included a Philadelphia Public League Championships and a PIAA District 12 title in the discus and comes to Lawrenceville with a personal best of 150'6” in the event.
Matthew Kraemer (Budd Lake, New Jersey/Mount Olive) joins the Broncs after transferring from East Stroudsburg University. He has personal bests of 147'5” in the hammer and 51'5” in the shot put. He won a New Jersey Sectional title in the shot put during his time at Mount Olive High School.
Completing the class is Kyle Poetsch of Sayreville, New Jersey (Mater Dei Prep) who threw a best of 46'0” in the shot put this past spring.
The Rider men's cross country team returns 22 runners and the Bronc men's track and field teams return 57 letterwinners from a squad that was third at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships.
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